Death Penalty: Sympathy for Defendant’s Family — Instruction and Argument
June 21st, 2022
CC 763 includes the following optional clarifications regarding the jurors’ consideration of sympathy for the defendant’s family in a death penalty case. [Although you may consider sympathy or compassion for the defendant, you may not let sympathy for the defendant’s family influence your decision. [However, you may consider evidence about the impact the defendant’s execution […]
Tags: CC 763, Death Penalty, Defense Theory Instructions
Defendant Has Sixth Amendment Right Of Autonomy Over The Defense
May 30th, 2022
In People v. Bloom (Apr. 21, 2022, S095223) [pp. 34-35] Bloom was charged with killing 3 people. He admitted killing one but repeatedly objected to his lawyer admitting that he killed the other 2 and relying on a diminished mens rea defense to argue that Bloom was only guilty of manslaughter. Despite Bloom’s objections, the […]
Tags: Lesser Included Offenses, Strategy Notes and Ideas
DNA: Strmix® Probabilistic Genotyping Technology Satisfies The Kelly Standard (People v. Davis (2022) 75 Cal.App.5th 694)
May 25th, 2022
–STRmix® is generally accepted in the relevant scientific community –Court could rely on validation witness with vested interest in the technology –Proprietary software can achieve general acceptance without disclosure of source code –Technology with subjective component can be generally accepted –STRmix® not vulnerable to Evidence Code § 352 objection –Not an […]
Tags: CC 315, CC 332, Expert Testimony, Sample Instructions
Meaning Of LWOP: Strategy And Tactics
May 18th, 2022
Simmons v. South Carolina, 512 U.S. 154 (1994), holds that a defendant is entitled to a penalty-phase jury instruction that (if true) life-sentenced prisoners will never be eligible for parole. For many years, the Arizona Supreme Court held that Simmons does not apply in Arizona because LWOP prisoners are entitled to apply for executive clemency. […]
Tags: CC 334, CC 335, Death Penalty
March 2022 CALCRIM Revisions with Selected FORECITE COMMENTARY
May 3rd, 2022
Effective March 21, 2022, the CALCRIM committee changed the instructions set forth below. See https://jcc.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=10537506&GUID=0581B025-AB47-4E81-9694-89A8C8F8B587 Instruction Number Instruction Title N/A User Guide 224 Circumstantial Evidence: Sufficiency of Evidence 250 Union of Act and Intent: General Intent 253 Union of Act and Intent: […]
Judge’s Duty to Draft and Give Instructions Not Included in CALCRIM
May 3rd, 2022
In People v. Pettigrew (2021) 62 Cal.App.5th 477, 500 the judge erroneously instructed the jurors that they could consider the defendant’s attempted suicide as flight per CC 372. Instead, because no CC instructions addressed the issue of attempted suicide vis-a-vis consciousness of guilt the judge (or prosecutor who had presented the attempted suicide evidence and […]
Tags: CALCRIM Is Not The Law, CALCRIM Not Always Correct, CC 372, CC 402, Judge Duty to Instruct, Judge Duty To Instruct Correctly, Pattern Instructions Not Sacrosanct
Accessory After the Fact Liability Requires Affirmative Conduct Intended to Assist or Encourage a Crime
April 8th, 2022
[Update of this post.] Refusing to Testify After Getting Immunity Is Not Accessory After the Fact May 5th, 2020 In People v. K.M. (In re K.M.) ___ Cal App ___(Feb. 17, 2022, A159962) [pp. 5-7] the prosecution asserted that K.M. was guilty of aiding and abetting a robbery because his very presence at the […]
Tags: Accessories, CC 440, Lesser Related Offenses
Imperfect Self Defense Warranted When Defendant’s Account Is Not Totally Delusional
April 8th, 2022
In People v. Schuller (2021) 72 Cal.App.5th 221; 286 Cal. Rptr. 3d 309, 317-19 the Court of Appeal concluded that “the refusal to instruct on imperfect self-defense here was error. While defendant’s testimony included evidence of delusion, his account pertaining to the actual shooting was not entirely delusional and thus provided substantial evidence of an […]
Tags: CC 571, Imperfect Self Defense
CC 401 Erroneously Allows the Jurors to Consider the Defendant’s Presence During the Crim or Failure to Prevent the Crime to Find the Actus Reus of Aiding and Abetting Liability
March 2nd, 2022
In People v. K.M. (In re K.M.) ___ Cal App ___ (Feb. 17, 2022, A159962) [pp. 5-7] the prosecution asserted that K.M. was guilty of aiding and abetting a robbery because his very presence at the scene of the crime assisted the perpetrator of the robbery. However, the reviewing court correctly reversed the judgement because […]
Tags: Accomplice Liability, Aider and Abettor, CC 1600, CC 400, CC 401, Defense Theory Instructions, Robbery
Corpus Delicti: Jurors Must Find Independent Evidence As to All Elements of the Charged Offense
February 10th, 2022
The corpus delicti rule requires “an instruction to the jury that no person may be convicted absent evidence of the crime independent of his or her out-of-court statements” and “allows the defendant, on appeal, directly to attack the sufficiency of the prosecution’s independent showing.” (People v. Gonzalez ____C5th____, at ____ (Dec. 2, 2021, S163643) [pp. […]
Tags: CC 359, Corpus Delicti, Sample Instructions
